Go Scoble!!

The big story today is that uberblogger Robert Scoble got booted from Facebook for violating the TOS by trying to basically export his social graph. Wow! I mean WOW. Can they do that to Scoble? After all, he’s created a lot of free PR for them.  I can’t wait to see the backlash. It’s kind of ironic that they were able to completely vaporize him given that for regular folk it’s rather difficult to close your Facebook account and get all the information removed. You can read about it directly on Scoble’s blog.  The comments that follow are the best part.  I also liked Jeff Crites great post at consumerpassion.com about Scoble being “scobled.”

pownce.com – meow!

I’ve signed up for the waiting list at filesharing/messaging site pownce.com.  All I can think of is the cat treat Pounce. But, the fact that I couldn’t get a registration right away makes me want an account even more! Even better than the actual product (since I haven’t used it yet) is their cute little site and their great company name: Megatechtronium. You gotta love their sense of humor and chutzpah to select such a grandiose name for such a small company since you get the impression that they are really running this company out of their basement — the only address on the site is, presumably, one of the founder’s apartments.  And, I have to admit, that I really dig the color scheme of their site and the retro graphics. Is that shallow? Anyway, I’ll be looking forward to getting my login. Please send it soon!

life of a researcher

Watching the movie The Lives of Others, made me think about how much I, myself, am a voyeur of sorts. As a researcher, I’ve been tapping into people’s feelings, emotions and experiences for years…I’ve listened to people describe their behaviors, I’ve read countless paragraphs in online communities about all manner of topics — from pest control to how they use deodorant to their most meaningful holiday moments. I could probably even write a book about it — The Habits of American Moms.  Sometimes these consumers can be funny and engaging. Other times, they can be downright scary or simply disheartening…for example, when they express their prejudices or when they say they are not interested in recycling. But, most of the time, they are warm and caring, creative, productive and…human.